"Keep talking, Evangeline," Zeke croaked. "You must inspire them."
Lena wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and then tightened her grip on the com. "I know what Selene can do," she said. "I've experienced it. She murdered my parents. She controls the ones I love. She's been hunting me for years, and is now sending me to my death at the hands of someone I love. She will do the same to your families if she wins. But she will not win. Not if you join me in fighting against her. Join the Rise. And let's finish what my father started."
Jenna snorted. "That's supposed to inspire them?" She turned away and walked to the back of her cell.
Lena clenched her jaw. This was not over. She lifted the com once more to her mouth. "You've seen what the Priestess can do," she said. "How she lies and manipulates to get what she wants. You are a tool in her hands. You are the army that she can't function without. She plans on sending the prisoners off planet to work in the mines. As slaves. Never to come back home again." Lena strengthened the passion in her voice. "Who do you think she'll send to guard them? It will be you. The ones that guard them now. She doesn't care about your families or your homes or the sacrifices you have made to keep them safe and keep them alive. She doesn't care about you. She only cares about what you can do for her."
Lena paused and bit her lower lip. She urged herself to sound as convincing and inspiring as she could. She urged herself to sound like her father once had.
"So, I ask you to take your weapons that have been a source of her power and turn them against her. Fight for your home. Fight for your family. Fight for everything you've given up to keep them together and keep them safe. Fight with us. Rise against her. Now is the time."
Lena could hear the guards rushing towards their tunnel. She stood at the edge of her cell, waiting for them to come. There were half a dozen of them, their hands on their holsters as if awaiting a chance to shoot.
"Give me the com device," the one in front said.
Lena didn't fight it. There was no point. She held it through the bars, and the soldier quickly yanked it from her hands.
They looked nervous and unsure what to do next. The guard who had taken it from her put it on his belt. "Back to your posts," he commanded.
They didn't exit as quickly as they had come. Each one studied her in their own way, before turning back to their posts.
It was then at the edge of the tunnel that Lena saw Ruddy standing in the shadows. Locking eyes with him she took a deep cleansing breath. The very kind that he had taught her to do. "Free them," she called.
Ruddy took one cleansing breath of his own, then nodded purposefully to her. Lena didn't need to ask, she knew. Ruddy was going to Rise.
***
Lena paced around her cell, waiting for the moment when Ras would come take her to her execution. Her feelings bordered between scared and anxious for him to come. She didn't want to face Gideon, but was ready for the Rise to begin.
"Are you all ready?" Lena said to the recruits when she heard Ras' footsteps coming down the tunnels towards their cave. A second set of footsteps came with his. "When you're freed, come to the surface. The Rise will be there, fighting for our freedom." As she finished speaking Ras and Lucius entered the tunnel.
As soon as her cell unlocked, Ras slammed her face first into the wall. Hard enough that her face turned sideways and she lost her breath.
"Don't think your pretty little speech went unnoticed," he growled. "You can't possibly think starting a riot will keep you from being punished." Ras pushed her even harder
She felt her feet lifting off the ground and her toes barely brushing the cave's surface.
"I'm already being executed," Lena said with little breath. "What more can you do to me?"
Ras grabbed her arm and twisted it at an unnatural angle behind her.
Lena cried out as shocks of pain shot through her arm. She tried to kick or spin out of his grip, but he was too strong for her. She could barely breathe. The pain was so intense she couldn't even scream.
"Put her down," Lucius said coming to stand beside the man. "You can't kill her before the Priestess gets to have her fun.
Ras started laughing. "But, I can have some fun without killing her." He violently twisted her arm. It popped at the shoulder.
When he released her. It dropped to her side. She screamed in pain.
"See how much trouble you can cause now," Ras said. He grabbed her other arm and dragged her out of the tunnel.
Lucius walked beside them.
Lena stumbled forward, her heartbeat an uneven mess as fear surged inside of her. Walking was hard. Ras pushed her to move quickly. She kept stumbling and they kept grabbing her and pulling her up. She kept her arm close to her body, trying in vain to protect it.
They led her to the same elevator she had taken into the crags and took it to the ground floor. The walls and ground were the shiny black that she had seen in the hallways upstairs and Lena could feel the distant draft of fresh air. She took in a deep breath as they pulled her to the end of the hall where a man was silhouetted in the sun.
She didn't have to guess who it was. It was Gideon. His back was towards her, but his broad shoulders and the way he stood left no doubt in Lena's mind that it was him. He had cleaned up, and was now wearing the Priestess' uniform. The same type he had worn in the facility.
The hall opened at the end for more space. Gideon turned his head to look at her as she approached.
He was cuffed, his hands and his feet. He had several guards standing around him. But he looked like himself. All except his eyes. They looked haunted as if he were watching his nightmares come true.
"Gideon," Lena said. Her heart was racing as she studied him.
"Eves." Tears started streaming down his face. "I'm so sorry." The desperation in his voice was more than she could bear.
"Gideon, this isn't going to end here," Lena said.
Gideon didn't answer. Desperation was etched on every line of his face.
"Promise me that you'll keep fighting the device," Lena yelled. "Fight it like your father did. I'll find a way to free you. To remove the device. Fight. For both of us."
Ras laughed. "Whatever you're planning will not work."
As Gideon turned to face Ras, his expression changed. He was defiant. "I promise," Gideon said. "I promise you..." he was cut off. He went stiff and his eyes were full of malice. Tears still wet his face. The Priestess had taken control.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ras dragged Lena into the sunlight at the end of the tunnel. A clear box, slightly larger and taller than she waited for her. Lena's breath caught. This was the same kind of temporary prison that held her when she was being auctioned off in Monmark. She let out a small gasp as Ras pushed her inside and her shoulder hit the side of it.
Ras smirked. "That little injury isn't going to come close to what the Priestess is going to do to you."
Lena's heart skipped a beat as she glared at him.
"The Priestess is not only going to kill you. She is going to make an example of you," Ras said. "Your death is going to be slow and painful. It will be burned in people's memories forever." He gave a vicious laugh.
Lucius scowled. "Stop playing with the prisoner and take her to the arena," he commanded Ras. He raised his head haughtily. "I've been requested to escort the Priestess.”
Ras laugh turned condescending. "You must not have gotten the message," he said. "I am escorting Priestess Selene. You will be the one walking the prisoner onto the battlefield."
Lucius looked taken aback and his face turned red in anger. "That's not my job and you know it."
"Listen to me, boy. You have no job," Ras said grabbing Lucius' collar. "You are a sideshow. You helped Selene get what she wanted, and now she can dispose of you."
Lucius pushed Ras' hand away and straightened his jacket. "I am a member of the Priestess' court," he said. "How dare you touch me like that."
"You are for now," Ras said. He looked down at Lucius. "We'll see how well Evangeline a
ctually dies." Ras gave Lena one more look then turned and walked back the way they had come.
Lena turned her attention to Lucius. He didn't look phased by the conversation he'd had with Ras. He was braver than Lena thought he would be. "Lucius I need your help," she said as Lucius grabbed the controls that would lock her in the box and take her to the arena.
Lucius snorted. "I know you have a plan, Lena. I have a lens. I received the same message from Evren as the rest of the Rise. I know that they're planning an attack today."
"Then join us, Lucius. For real this time," Lena pleaded.
Lucius didn't say anything.
"Join a cause that is bigger than you, Lucius. Join the Rise."
"Stop talking, Servant." Now Lucius sounded mad. Like he didn't want to hear anything more that Lena was saying.
Lena cradled her arm against her body and stood taller. "Selene and Carina will use you then get rid of you," Lena said. "Just like they have before. You know that it is true. You experienced it first hand already with Selene. And you know Carina will do the same. Lucius, don't you see? You don't need them. You are a power to be reckoned with all on your own."
Lucius turned to her. His eyes ran across her, stopping at her face. "You look awful," he said.
Lena lifted her chin. "But I'm not the awful one. Neither are you, Lucius."
"And say I did help you," Lucius said after a momentary pause. "What would you have me do?"
"I need the nullifier," Lena answered. "I need to destroy the device inside of Gideon."
Lucius didn't respond to her pleading. "It's time," he said maneuvering the box onto the courtyard surrounding the fortress.
The courtyard was lined with the citizens of Ebon. As she passed them in the streets, they filled in the gap behind her, escorting her to wherever the Priestess was going to hold the execution. None of them talked or looked happy. Their faces were solemn.
She could see another group of people ahead of her. She assumed that this group surrounded Gideon.
"Looks like your friends came after all," Lucius said nodding his head into the crowd.
Lena followed his nod and saw Bates. His bright blue hair was covered with a dark hat and he wore all black. His eyes were full of confidence.
Bates stood with his hand on the shoulder of Ollie. Her sweet mischievous little friend. He gave her a thumbs up sign.
Lena pressed her working hand into the clear surface of her cage, willing without words to let them know that her plan was going to work.
They were nearing the walls of the city. "Lucius, the nullifier," Lena pleaded. "Please."
"Would you stop talking already, servant? Your begging is driving me mad," Lucius snarled as they exited the city walls.
Her eyes widened. A large makeshift stadium towered over her. Boxed seats filled with arena. Soldiers led the spectators into them. As soon as each was filled, the box slowly lifted into the air, giving everyone a perfect view of the semi circle below and the crags that bordered it.
Selene's box floated over the crags. Ras and her council sat with her. Lucius eyed the box and cursed under his breath.
"See? You've already been disposed of," Lena said.
Gideon stopped on the opposite end of the arena. As Lena's box stopped, he turned to face her.
The crowd quieted even more as Selene's voice came over a loud speaker. "Evangeline Adhara," Selene stated. "Due to your crimes. You will not suffer a fast death." Her voice was echoing around the stadium. "Your death will be slow, looking into the eyes of your executioner. The very same executioner that you seduced, then used for your own gain."
Lena stared at Gideon. Her heart skipped wildly in her chest. She didn't realize Selene was going to make her fight Gideon. She looked at her arm. Not only was she going to have to fight him, she was going to have to do it one handed.
"Let this be a lesson to those who think they can rise against me," Selene said.
The door on Lena's box slid open.
"I don't like you, Lena, I never have," Lucius said. He grabbed her dislocated arm and yanked her from the box.
Lena gasped as her shoulder popped into place.
Lucius reached into his pocket. "But I hate them more." He pulled out the nullifier and pressed it into Lena's hand.
As soon as it touched her palm, she felt the nullifiers vibrations as it linked to her insignia and attached to her hand.
"You better win," Lucius said before walking to the edge of the arena.
***
Lena focused on the crowd around her. She recognized the faces of Zoons scattered through the stadium seats. She saw Suki in one of the distant boxes with Tarek at her side. Across the barren ground, in the trees, she imagined Birdee with Tern and the people of the woods, waiting for the signal to fight.
She turned to face Gideon.
Selene's voice echoed through the stadium. "People of Mir. This is Evangeline Adhara. Daughter of the pitiful General Adhara. See how far she's fallen. See what happens to those who go against this planet's rightful ruler.”
Lena's hand clenched around the device attached to it as she stepped across the dusty dry ground. She raised her head higher and looked across the audience until she found Suki. "Evren," she said. "I have the nullifier, let's take Selene down."
Locking eyes, Suki gave her a nod. Suki was ready to fight.
"We're good to go. All communications are broadcast on you," Evren typed.
"I am Evangeline Adhara," she yelled as loud as she could. Her voice sounded over the loud speakers. "And now is the time to Rise! Join me," she yelled.
"Captain Merak, kill the girl," Selene shrieked though her voice could only be heard by those near enough.
Gideon bolted towards Lena. The audience roared.
"The Rise is active," Evren typed. "Suki says to focus on saving Gideon. The Rise will take care of the soldiers."
The arena erupted in chaos. A low zooming sound buzzed in her ear. Suki and her Zoons had jumped on their gliders and were systematically surrounding the arena and disarming defense soldiers.
Lena saw Gideon stop and stand stiffly.
"What is this?" Selene shrieked. But few could hear her. "Defenses, attack those people!"
Lena moved carefully towards Gideon as a few Defense soldiers started yelling and shooting wildly into the flying mob.
Citizens of Ebon rushed to get out of their floating boxes. Many plead with the Priestess to lower them to the ground.
The Priestess sneered and looked away.
Someone fell out of their box, several stories to the ground below. The audience turned hysterical.
Suki aimed something at the soldiers and shot a blast in their direction. Lena didn't know what it was but it knocked the soldiers off their feet within a ten-foot area.
"Evren, can you lower the boxes?" Lena called.
"Working on it," Evren typed.
Suki landed next to her, along with Tarek and Bates.
"Where is Thora?" Lena asked.
Suki shrugged her shoulders.
"We can't start an interworld war, without an interworld leader." Lena cried.
"Just stick to the plan," Suki said. "Evren won't fail us."
Lena stared at Selene who was standing on the edge of her private box. Ras stood next to her whispering something in her ear. She looked enraged! And Lena saw why. The first prisoners to escape were now walking along the ridge of the crags. They were in rags and some barely limped along, but they were organized and ready to fight. They were also surrounding the arena.
"Save Gideon," Suki yelled as she jumped back on her glider. "We'll disarm those who still fight with Selene."
Gunfire and blasts could be heard ringing from the stadium around them.
Gideon was now running towards her. His moves though were jerky and stiff. As if Selene didn't have full control of him.
"Gideon, stop," Lena said.
"You will not win!" Gideon shrieked. "Your resistance will die. Just like your father's."
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He stood in striking distance now. Lena watched his movements closely.
Gideon clenched his fists and swung.
Lena dodged his swing. "Selene, your moves are sloppy," she taunted coming back up and punching Gideon.
"I'm going to kill you," Gideon screamed his body jerked in a half twist as he tried to counter Lena's attack.
Lena ran at him. "You are not going to kill me. Gideon won't let you." She jumped into him, kicking forward.
Gideon grabbed her leg, twisting it.
Lena used the momentum to swing her other leg around and kick his head forcing him to drop her leg.
Gideon grabbed her previously dislocated arm. "You're not going to win."
Pain exploded in her arm as Gideon yanked her to the ground and pressed his knee into her chest.
She reached for his neck.
He caught her hand and pressed it to the ground above her head. Releasing her other hand Gideon reached down and pulled a knife from his boot.
"Gid, stop," Lena cried, as he raised the knife above her.
Sweat dripped from Gideon's forehead. His arms trembled violently as he fought against an invisible force. His eyes cleared. "Eves," he said releasing his hold. His voice was shaky, but it was his voice. He was fighting the device.
Lena reached her hand to Gideon's neck. She felt the nullifier vibrate and then lock onto the back of his neck.
Gideon fell to his side convulsing.
Lena was still attached to him. She sat up and moved closer to Gideon until the vibrating stopped.
Gideon opened his eyes. They were clear. It had worked. He'd been deactivated. He lifted his hand slowly to her face. "Eves," he said again. "You did it." He grabbed her face with both his hands and kissed her. "Let's finish this," he said pulling them both to their feet.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lena looked around the field. The Rise had surrounded the arena. Citizens of Mir, Cimmerians, Zoons, and prisoners were all ready to take on Selene. The Defenses had been disarmed and now were standing with their hands raised in the air.
"Soldiers," screamed Selene from her box still floating above the crags. Her call went unanswered. No one moved. Her soldiers had either been surrounded or had given up on their own. And the members of the court, who had stood so loyally by her side, now raised their arms in defeat.
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 64